Saturday, August 15, 2009, 12:53 PM
Posted by Administrator
In the past couple months we’ve seen a lot of old, used gear come into the shop for service or just to be checked out. It seems that people are digging out their old scuba gear and selling it on-line or at a garage sale. There are some really good deals out there, but, as always, it is “buyers beware.” Those old aluminum scuba tanks may look tempting, but remember that many aluminum tanks manufactured before 1988 were made from an alloy that had a tendency to crack in the neck area (called “sustained load cracking”). These tanks may still be good, but require a close inspection of the thread area to assure that there are no cracks, and some fill stations will refuse to fill them regardless. The old steel tanks are usually the classic old steel 72s, and are generally OK, but watch out for rust on the inside and obsolete valves. There can be issues with older regulators, also. Some manufacturers have gone out of business or regulator models have been dropped, and we can no longer service their products. For example, Dacor regulators manufactured before 1999 are no longer supported by Dacor’s new owner (but you can trade them in for a discount on new Mares regulators). Tekna regulators are no longer serviceable, and there have been a number of “store brand” regulators sold over the years that are now unsupported. Older BCDs can sometimes be leaky as their bladders get brittle and seams fail.
So the bottom line is: know what you are buying, check out those bargains closely before you buy, and remember that this stuff is life support equipment and choose it accordingly. As always, you can call us with your questions, and we will do our best to give you good advice.
Safe Diving,
Aquatic Adventures Dive Team
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